Over the years, the chain expanded to more than 300 stores and into a billion-dollar empire.

In a 2003 interview, the thrifty entrepreneur told the L.A. Times that while working at his father’s liquor store, he discovered that items he discounted to $1.02 or 98 cents never sold out. But a 99-cent label almost always did the trick.

In 2011, Gold sold his franchise for about $1.6 billion dollars. Yet he never adopted a flashy lifestyle, despite making the Forbes 400 list.

He lived in the same middle-class home for nearly five decades with his wife of 55 years, Sherry.